Flexible pocket receptacle



Dec. 19, 1933- w. R. BUXTON FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTACLE Filed July 11, 1952 INVENTOR MRNERRBUXTM W r- M ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 19, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT or ies 1,939,761 FLEXIBLE POCKET RECEPTACLE Warner R. Buxton, Longmeadow, Mass. Application July 11, 1932. Serial No. 621,811

.2 Claims. (01. 150 3s) This invention relates to an improved flexible pocket receptacle, adapted for carrying bills, checks, cards, stamps and the like, and commonly known as a bill fold.

These bill folds usually comprise outer and inner walls suitably connected together along one side and both ends, leaving the other side open for the insertion and removal of bills and the like inand from the compartment formed between these walls. The trade demands. that some provision be made in the bill fold for carrying small articles, such as cards, stamps and the like. It has been the practice to provide the bill fold with small pockets for carrying such 12; articles in the general manner disclosed in my prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,824,943, granted Sept. 29, 1931. 'As therein shown, end flaps formed on the outer wall of the bill fold are folded over and overlapped upon the end sec- 23 tions of the inner wall and interlocked therewith and the underlying portion of the inner wall,

in which pocket small articles, such as above enumerated, may. be placed. The practical difliculty of this and equivalent arrangements is that'bulk is added to the bill fold by theoverlapping end flaps. When the bill fold is closed by folding one half over and upon the other, the two end flaps become superposed and act to space apart the two folded sections of the bill fold. Two extra thicknesses of leather are added by the end flaps, which prevent the two halves of the inner wall from folding flatly one against the other in contiguous relation, and this occurs near the outer free edges of the bill fold where it is desired to have the edges thin. Thus, when the bill fold is closed it is actually more bulky than necessary. However, even when the bill fold is open, the end flaps give the appearance of unnecessary heaviness of construction so that the bill fold looks 'bulky.

This invention has for its object to provide a new and improved construction of one of the walls of the bill fold,whereby the desired small pockets are provided for without the bulkiness of the prior construction. The construction is also characterized in that it presents an improved appearance by avoiding any external earmarks which are suggestive or indicative of bulk. It is almost as important to impress the customer, by the external appearance, that all undue bulk has been eliminated as it is to actually 55' avoid such bulk in the construction.

This and other objects will best appear as the detailed description proceeds and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will be disclosed for illustrative purposes in connection with the accompanying 69 drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an open bill fold embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the bill fold when closed;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational View of a member which cooperates with an inner wall of the bill fold to form a pocket;

Fig. l is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line ---4 of Fig. 1, showing the pocket,- 7 the thickness of the walls of the pocket being exaggerated to secure clearness of illustration; and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. l. 7

Referring tothe drawing; the bill foldcomprises an outer wall 10 (Fig. 1) and a suitable inner wall which is usually and preferably made up of two longitudinally spaced end sections 11 and an intermediate section 12, the latter preferably being free to slide longitudinally relatively to at least one of the end sections. Each section 11 preferably has a flap 11' located between it and the outer wall and the intermediate section 12 is received at its ends between the flaps 35 11 and 11'. The lower side edge and the outer end edge of each section 11 is suitably connected to the adjacent side edge and end edge of outer wall 10, preferably and as herein shown in such a manner as to avoid the use of overlapping flaps which create bulk in the connections. The bill fold affords between its outer and inner walls a pocket P for the reception of bills, checks and the like. The bill fold, shown in open position in Fig. 1, maybe closed by folding it along 9 the transverse line 13 and superposing one half upon the other. The bill fold then appears as shown in Fig. 2.

One ormore pockets are formed in one or both of the inner wall sections 11 in the follow we ing manner. The leather section 11 is cut through to form a slit 14 (Figs. 1 and 4), wln'ch serves as the mouth of the pocket. Preferably, the ends of the slit are rounded as shown in Fig. l at 15, leaving a tab-like portion 16 of the leather free to be lifted to facilitate the insertion of cards, stamps or the like into the pocket. The pocket itself is formed between the wall 11 and a thin strip 17 of suitable material such as paper, fabric, or the like, and 110 is shown separately in Fig. 3. This strip 1'? is secured to the inner face of the leather wall 11 in any suitable way, as for example adhesively, along the three edges 18 and by stitches 18' along the other edge, which stitches serve also to fasten the ends of walls 10, 11 and 11. This leaves an area 19 enclosed within said edges and free from connection to the inner wall. One edge of the area 19 coincides with slit 14. Thus, a pocket 10 for the described pur pose is provided which is closed except for the mouth provided by cutting through the leather wall 11 at 14.

It is pointed out that the strip 17, being so very thin, does not as a practical matter add to the bulk of the bill fold. As a practical matter, it is common to fasten such a strip to the inner face of the leather wall 11 for the purpose of stiffening it, so that the addition of strip 17 does not actually produce any increase in the usual thickness of the bill fold.

To facilitate the insertion and removal of cards into the pocket described, a leather piece 20 is fastened to strip 17 near the mouth of the pocket. This piece 20 is madeas wide as the pocket and of wedge shaped cross section. The leather piece 20, originally of the same thickness as wall 11, is skived down to a very thin razor-like edge. The thicker end of this wedgelike piece abuts the cut edge 14 as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, an inclined approach from the strip 17 to the outer face of wall llis provided so that the cards may be easily removed from the pocket p without encountering any obstacle, such as the shoulder which would otherwise be presented by the cut edge 14. This wedge piece 20 also prevents the tab 16 from being pressed back into the place which it originally occupied, and forces it to lie projected beyond the outer face of wall 11, so that the mouth of the pocket is always easily accessible. This forcing out of tab 16 contributes materially to the appearance of the bill fold by accentuating the slit 14 and, in effect, causing it to be thrown into relief, making an ornamental break in the otherwise plane surface of the wall 11. Another very important reason for the wedge piece 2-9 is that it raises the tab 16 and places the same under tension, whereby the tab will tightly grip the cards placed in the pocket. The pocket is intended primarily for use with cards which are longer than the pocket so that the ends. of the cards project outwardly beyond the mouth of the pocket as shown at c in the left hand part of Fig. 1. It is important then to have the tab 16 drawn against these cards at the mouth of the pocket to frictionally hold them in place.

It is obvious that as many of these pockets may be provided as are desired and at any loca tion and of such size and shape as may be de sired. The slit 14 need not necessarily be vertically disposed as herein shown, but may be formed in any other direction desired.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the bill fold, as it appears when opened, is devoid of any earmarks which are suggestive or indicative of bulk. There are no parts such as end flaps,

overlapped upon the inner wall. The prospective purchaser usually first sees the bill fold displayed in open position and the very important favorable first impression on the prospective purchaser is made by the attractive appearance of the bill fold when in such position. It does not look bulky and therefore has the desired sales appeal. The purchaser, having been attracted by the thin appearance of the bill fold, finds on closer examination that the construction is actually much less bulky than prior bill folds which have the pocket provisions at the same location. The overlapping end flaps of the prior construction are avoided by the use of the stitched seams 18 or equivalent connections. In place of these end flaps a strip, such as 17, is substituted, which is entirely concealed and also so very thin that it does not noticeably add to the thickness of the bill fold for the reasons above described. Only at the mouth of the pocket is there any projection and this consists merely of the small tab 16 which projects out from the wall 11 in inclined relation just sufliciently to afford easy access to the pocket. The pocket also tapers outwardly toward the closed end of the bill fold and because of this feature the ends of the bill fold are very thin, which is a very desirable feature.

The invention has been disclosed herein, in an embodiment at present preferred for illustrative purposes, but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is:

1. A flexible pocket receptacle, comprising, superimposed walls of leather or the like secured together along one side edge and both end edges to form therebetween a compartment for bills and the like, a thin strip secured over part of its area to the inner face of one of said walls and being free from attachment to such wall over another and pocket forming area, such wall being cut through along a line substantially coincident with one edge of the last named area to form amouth for the pocket provided between the unsecured portions of such strip and wall, and a wedge shaped piece secured to the last named area of said strip with its thick end abutting thecut edge in such wall at the open end of the pocket and converging toward the opposite end of the pocket.

2. A flexible pocket receptacle comprising, superimposed walls of leather or the like secured together along one side edge and both end edges to form therebetween a compartment for bills and the like, and a thin strip secured along its edges and except for an area enclosed within such edges to the inner face of one of said walls, such wall being cut through to form a slit located substantially coincident with one edge of said area, whereby a pocket is formed between theunsecured portions of said strip and such wall and whereby said slit affords an entrance to said pocket, and a wedge shaped piece secured to said area of the strip with its thick end abutting said cut edge and its outer face converging from the outer face of such wall to the outermost faceof said strip.

WARNER R. BUXTON. 

